Ritual, splendour and religious devotions : the Siege of 1565 and festival celebrations in 17th century Malta

Abstract

In 1645, a couple of days after the celebration of the festival associated with the Otto Settembre - 8th September, the feast of the Virgin Mary's Nativity and Victory over the Ottoman Siege of Malta of 1565 – Inquisitor Gori Pannellini reported the details of the activity to the Holy See. Thanks to the report we learn that the feast served as a display of patriotic feelings. The day began with a procession in which a knight of Auvergne carried the standard of the Order of St John, as was customary, to the Conventual Church of St John, followed by the sword and stiletto which Philip II had awarded to Grand Master la Valette in recognition of his victory over the Turks. The Inquisitor noted that the reigning Grand Master Lascaris (1636-1657), wished to celebrate the Victory over the Turks with great pomp. The Inquisitor does not elaborate but it could well have been an excuse to commemorate the event with special solemnity as it marked the eightieth anniversary of the Siege. Lascaris even felt the need to show his magnanimity by releasing three Italian knights from prison. The celebration may suggest that the spirit of Grand Master La Vallette's heroic successful stand against the Ottoman Turks and their North African allies remained an inspiration of long standing among his successors. The Siege served as a memorable point in time to those who passed through the terrible months of 1565 as evinced in the Inquisition criminal records of the late sixteenth century. Thus in 1574 Fra Simon Provost, a member of the Order 'who served as Master of the Mint, admitted having kept a concubine since the time of the siege. Likewise in 1599 Isabetta Caruana claimed that she had been teaching catechism to girls at an Mdina convent since the time of the siege. The 1565 victory over the 'Turks' remained a major focal point throughout the long period of the knights in Malta. It was idealized as a heroic event in the years immediately after the siege and came to serve as a strong motive of Maltese ethnic identity well into the eighteenth century and beyond. More than two centuries after 1565 the Maltese could still talk of a protracted crusade against the Muslim 'infidel', enemy of both the Maltese and the Order - a crusading spirit that united the people and the Order in a common aim